Sword Art Online: The Integral Factor
by TrueRising
Summary: 10,000 players have been trapped inside the VRMMO known as SAO, or Sword Art Online. Join the protagonist as he ventures through this world alongside his female companion while taking on many great challenges, all with the thought that he could die any second. (No Flames)
1. Beta Ends

**A/N: This story follows the storyline of the mobile game: Sword Art Online Integral Factor but with my own two main characters and slight changes, there is also an element from another anime in here which some of you might know.**

* * *

A male was walking across the plains, he looked to be around the age of fifteen or so, his hair was black and his eyes being red. This young man is Echo Kurogane.

His outfit consisted of a black t-shirt with a white short-sleeved hooded armoured vest that reached halfway down his upper body. He wore black jeans and white combat boots. On his back was a sword that was being held there, it was a futuristic looking sword with a black handle with a brilliant white blade along with blue highlights.

"Man, it's already the last day of the beta test, I wonder if anything will change when the game is fully released." Echo wondered. His talking was interrupted when he heard someones voice.

He turned his head to see a female that had long blonde hair, she wore a white tight t-shirt with a black short skirt, she had on purple shoes and thigh-high white socks. On the right side of her waist was a dagger.

"Today's already the final day of the beta test, and here I still am..." The girl muttered. Echo saw the disappointed look on her face. Her face brightened up when her eyes saw Echo. "Oh! Excuse me, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh~, sure?" Echo replied before walking towards her.

"It's time nice to meet you, I'm Sara." The girl introduced herself. "What's yours?"

"Oh, the name's Echo. So, is there something that I can help you with?" Echo asked. His face showed confusion as Sara looked embarrassed.

"Well, you see, this is honestly embarrassing to admit, but I'm absolutely terrible at this game, and I mean really bad..." Sara admitted. Echo sweatdropped at the bluntness to how bad she said about herself.

"I see... I guess this is your first VRMMO?"

"Yeah. It's also my first ever video game that I've ever played, I looked some stuff up online before starting, but from first experiencing it myself, it appears to be a whole lot different to what I was expecting."

"So, you're having difficulties with the game?"

"That would be correct, I can't seem to land a single attack on any of the monsters, so I've only been levelling up my speed so I can run away. I've been seeing everyone around me getting stronger, and I just can't seem to be able to keep up. I even came all the way to here, but I'm honestly just lost now..."

"I know, I can help you learn how to battle." Echo suggested. The girl looked up at him surprised at the words.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Wow, thank you! Let's get started then!" Sara exclaimed.

"Alright! Now, let see..." Echo muttered. He glanced around the grassy plain as Sara stood next to him, he then pointed his finger towards a monster. "There, we'll use those Boars to help you practice."

"Okay..." Sara watched as Echo picked up a small rock on the ground before throwing it at fast speeds directly towards the Boar who god hit on the side and fast towards them with an angered expression ."Uh~..."

"Don't worry, I've just provoked it. So, you're saying that you're having trouble landing a hit?"

"That's right, whatever I do, I can't seem to be able to land a single hit to damage them," Sara said disappointingly.

"Well, it's mostly about activating your skills at the right time and also doing the correct initial motion." Echo explained. Sara looked confused as they then saw the Boar charge at them.

"It's coming towards us!" Sara exclaimed. Her face showed panic.

"Don't worry, even if it hits us, we don't feel pain. But you don't need to know that, just use a skill!" Echo stated.

"Skill... Initial movement... okay." Sara then looked at the Boar who charged at them as she unsheathed her dagger and held it back before it began to glow.

Echo watched as she then swung it horizontally upwards as her body lunged forward and a red slash mark appeared on the Boar before the life bar reached zero and the body shattered into data.

Sara stood up straight and blinked a couple times before smiling brightly and began jumping up and down. "That was awesome! I've never ever been able to fight like that before!"

"Good job, you got that down faster than I thought you would."

"It's thanks to you, Echo! Truly... I thank you. Do you think we can be friends?" Sara asked. Echo nodded his head at her and she smiled. "Thanks!"

"Well, we should probably..." Echo was interrupted when they heard the sound of a sword being swung, they turned their heads to see a male with slightly long black hair fighting against a horde of Boars that were surrounding him.

"That person is in danger, what do we do!" Sara panicked. Echo looked at the fight with narrowed eyes.

'From the way that guys fighting, he's definitely no newbie, though he seems to be having slight trouble, that is a pretty big group of Boars...' Echo thought. He then put a hand on Sara's shoulder. "I'll help him out, stay here."

Before she could say anything, Echo unsheathed his sword as the light of the sun slightly reflected off of the blade. He then sped forward at great speed towards two Boars that jumped at the player.

"Oh, crud..." The male groaned. Echo heard the person speak and before the boars could hit him, Echo quickly sliced one of them before kicking its body into the other, resulting in them both being defeated.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks for the help." The person thanked. They then saw the rest of the Boars looking at them before nodding at each other.

They both charged at the horde and began to slash at them non stop, Sara on the sidelines was watching the fight in awe. The boys moved faster than she could ever imagine, she knew that she had a long way to go if the gap was this big.

The boys quickly finished off the horde as they looked around to see if any more were present, once knowing that there weren't, they relaxed and gave a thumbs up at each other. "Again, thanks for the help."

"No problem," Echo responded. They both then turned to see Sara running towards them both. "They didn't get you too, did they?"

"No, I'm fine, I don't think they even saw me," Sara replied.

"You're pretty skilled with that sword of yours, I can tell you're strong. Well, I better get going..." The person was about to leave when Sara stopped him.

"Wait, please! Can you at least tell us your name?"

"Huh?" The person turned back confused.

"I'm Sara. And this here is Echo." Sara gestured towards the red-eyed male who just waved in response to her introduction.

"I never thought I'd hear someone say that in real life... though, I guess this is just VR... ah, whatever. My name's Kirito." The male now known as Kirio greeted. They nodded at this before he headed off.

They watched as he ran off, Echo then sheathed his sword back onto his back before cracking his neck, he then felt Sara tug his shirt and looked at her. "You two were super strong and super cool, if I just tried a little bit harder, would I be able to turn out like you two?"

"Of course you can, anybody can if they put their mind to it," Echo assured. Sara seemed to appreciate that answer.

"Yeah, huh? I guess every single person has to at least start somewhere, I'll give it a shot when the game is fully released!" Sara declared.

"I look forward it, if you need help, you can just ask me or Kirito over there." Echo said as he looked at the retreating form of Kirito in the distance.

"Of course, so, I hope that you'll join me again, Echo! I'll definitely be looking forward to showing you how much stronger I'll get!"

"I'll be waiting, let's meet again sometime then."

"Should be fun!"

They then heard a ring as they looked at the time which displayed it to be 5 pm, that was when a voice called out to them.

* * *

 **Thank you for joining us for the beta test of Sword Art Online.**

 **5 PM today marks the end of our beta test period.**

 **At the end of this beta test, all player data will be reset, the only thing that will be allowed to be kept is any accessories that are being worn by your characters.**

 **We are looking forward to having you all join us again for the full release.**

* * *

"We get to keep our accessories, huh? I like that, I honestly didn't like the look of wearing the armour." Echo admitted.

"I have to agree with you, that's kind of why I got these clothes that mask over the armour that I'm wearing," Sara added. She then looked at him. "Well, time went by quickly. I'm just glad that I got to meet you before it all ended, Echo. I'll see you around!"

"You too!"

With that, Echo's vision became white.


	2. A Death Game

**A/N: I'm writing this story how I want to, I apologise in advance if there is something in my story that don't exactly approve of.**

 **My character will be strong, but he definitely will not be a damn Mary Sue.**

 **I'm also deciding to give my character a small harem (3), because why not.**

* * *

Echo slowly opened his eyes only for the light of the game to rush into him, he blinked before looking at his arms and clenching his fists. He slightly curved his lips up before going into a big smile.

"I'm back, Aincrad..." Echo slowly turned around his body and took in the sight of the familiar area he was in, the Town of Beginnings. He watched as multiple figures of other players logged in.

He then examined his body, he was indeed still in the clothing that masked over his armour, he was glad of that, he seriously didn't like the armour design. He also noticed the beginner sword on his back.

"Oh, just in case..." Echo swiped his hand down and opened up the menu tab, he went into his 'Items' and 'Player' tabs. He scrolled through and sighed. "Yep, all gone, all that hard work gone in an instant."

Echo just sighed in exhaustion already, it was already tiring in the game, he was already stressed over something and he had just logged in. "Guess I better start grinding my way up again. I wonder if Sara has logged in yet."

Echo said to himself as he scanned his eyes around the area, not finding the sight of the girl anywhere in the crowd, it was a big crowd though... He'll probably run into her at some point, so no use worrying right now.

Echo's thoughts were interrupted when he felt someone bump into his back, he stumbled slightly but regained balance and looked back to see a person with a red headband and long hair. "Whoops! Sorry there! Ya alright?"

"It's fine, it was kind of my fault for standing still," Echo assured.

"Don't sweat it, it didn't hurt anyway! But hey now, what has your head so in the clouds in the first place?" The male wondered.

"Oh, I was looking for someone, I was trying to see if I could spot them somewhere in the crowd." Echo answered.

"So you got split from your friend? In that case, I'm going to help ya out! The name's Klein by the way, nice to meetcha!" The male now known as Klein introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Klein. My name's Echo." With that, both of them shook hands with one another.

"Alright, so you got your pal registered in your friend list?" Klein asked. Echo shook his head at this, Klein then held his chin in a thinking position. "No, huh?"

'I mean, I certainly didn't have time since the beta test ended before I could, it would have gotten reset anyways...' Echo thought to himself.

"If that's the case, I suggest that you should probably head on over to the Teleport Gate plaza, a lot of players usually gather around places like that," Klein suggested. Echo thought about it and nodded. "You never know, your friend might already be there waiting."

"I see, thanks a lot Klein!"

"No problem. I was actually waiting on a buddy myself, I bet you can't wait to meet up with 'em and share in this excitement, right?" Klein added. "I know I definitely am, been looking forward to playing this game ever since it was announced."

"Many people have, I remember seeing those crazy long lines, along with some people that even camped out so they could get a copy of it." Echo stated.

"I know, I was actually someone who waited in the line for a while. Well, my friends are budy IRL though, so here I am before everyone else."

"You should probably get a head start while you wait for them then, it would be beneficial for you to do so instead of just waiting here for who knows how long." Echo suggested.

"Roger that, I could maybe get a level or two onto my person before they show up, that way I can show them what a real leader is like." Klein then turned his body to the left slightly. "Well, I hope you find your friend, pal!"

"Good luck to you too, see you some other time!" Echo called out. He watched as the retreating form of Klein slowly disappeared from the distance. "Okay, better go check if Sara's at the plaza."

* * *

Echo was now walking towards the centre of the plaza, he kept looking around at the area not finding Sara, he stopped when he felt a tap on his shoudler and looked back to find a famililar girl standing there with her white top and black skirt.

"Um~, would you happen to be..." She was going to say.

"Sara?" Echo wondered. The girl blinked before smiling brightly at him, her face showed relief and happiness.

"I knew it, thank goodness!" Sara sighed in relief. "Echo, it is you! You have the same avatar that you used in the beta, so I spotted you right away."

"I see, I was honestly having some trouble finding you in this huge crowd of people." Echo replied. He did so while gesturing to the many players around them.

"Really? Well, there are a lot of players, I even used the same avatar I did in the beta but it seems that even with that, it was difficult to find me." Sara understood. "I'm just happy that I found you so quickly after logging in, it's good to meet you again!"

"Same here, if you hadn't found me, who knows how long I would be searching." Echo admitted. He then noticed a trouble expression on her face. "I something the matter, you look troubled."

"It's just that... this might be sudden, but... I'd like to ask if you could teach me how to battle again? After a while after last time, it seems I've forgotten how to properly fight and I'm not feeling too confident." Sara confessed. Echo blinked at this.

"I don't mind, I would happily help you out again," Echo responded.

"Oh, thanks!" Sara thanked the male. "I suppose we should head out to just outside of town since the monsters won't be that difficult, right?"

"That would be the best action right now, it would do the both of us good to have a bit of a refresher out in the Origin Plains." Echo agreed. With that, both of them headed out towards the Origin Plains.

* * *

Echo and Sara were now out in the plains fighting against boars, well, Echo was the one actually managing to fight them. Sara, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be doing the greatest at the moment.

"What's going on? I can't land any hits, I'm the actions correctly, right?" Sara wondered. Her face plastering disappointment, confusion and frustration. Echo sweatdropped at her as he watched her struggle, he was even feeling pity, now that was already a bad sign.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually, I'll help in any way I can." Echo stated. She nodded at him, they were then interrupted by a familiar voice that Echo concluded who it was almost immediately.

"Wow, you seem to be having it worse than even me!"

"Oh, Klein!" Echo remembered. Klein turned to him with a smile on his face while Sara looked at him in confusion.

"Hey, Echo! It appears that you found your friend, it's a good thing that I bumped into ya, you both should join in for the battle lesson Kirito is giving me." Klein suggested. Both of them looked surprised to hear that.

"Wait, Kirito's here?" Sara said in surprise.

"Yeah, you guys know him?" Klein asked. They were about to answer when a familiar black haired male appeared beside Klein.

"Who said that you could invite anyone...?" Kirito's voice sounded.

"Oh, c'mon now. The more the merrier, right?" Klein responded. Kirito then looked towards both Sara and Echo before raising an eyebrow.

"Do you really need me to teach you? I also highly doubt that Echo here needs lessons from me, he's probably just as good or better than I am." Kirito wondered.

"It's me who really needs help, Echo here is doing just as good as he did in the beta. But I can't seem to be able to land a single hit at all." Sara admitted. She was embarrassed to admit the fact.

"You're probably not using the correct attack type. Don't put too much strength into it, and just try to match the system assist." Kirito explained. "I saw that you used a dagger in the beta, so you're not used to using a sword."

"But, I don't have a dagger on me."

"Don't worry, I got one, I happen to buy in the from the merchant not long ago while searching for you." Echo stated. He then opened his menu and sent it over to Sara who equipped it. "Your skill should have changed to one of a dagger now."

"Oh, I see, so when you change equipment, it also changes your moves, huh. Okay, I-I'll try this!" Sara said. She looked towards one of the Boars near them and got into the same stance as she did the beta and slashed at it multiple times before it shattered. "There we go!"

"Nice! Hey, oh great teacher Kirito, if you've got any hints that you could share, lemme have 'em." Klein said.

"There aren't any tips that I can give you," Kirito responded.

"It's pretty much just practice and repetition." Echo stated. Kirito nodded his head in agreement to the statement.

"So it's more of a hands-on sort of thing then? I'll do my best!" Sara declared. Klein agreed with her.

"That's definitely the spirit you need! Alrighty then, let's practice a bit more, shall we?" Klein stated. They all agreed with him.

"Just try not to overwork yourselves," Echo added.

"He's right, don't overdo it." Kirito agreed.

* * *

The four of them began to take down multiple Boars around the area, they even gained some levels off of the kills. Some of them gained one level, while some of the others gained two additional levels.

"All right! I'm definitely not going to allow myself to fall behind you guys! It's time for me to train like I've never done before! Well, I will later, because... well, a man has to, and I had already ordered myself a pizza." Klein stated.

"You came prepared, didn't you?" Echo asked with a smirk on his face.

"Yep! Alright, I'm going to take leave here. I appreciate the asisstance, Kirito! You too as well! Catch ya later!" Klein said.

"See you later," Kirito said.

"Join us again some time," Sara added.

"I'll see you some other time then." Echo finished.

Klein then opened up the menu, only to have a look of confusion spread across his face, they all looked at him in confusion as he was looking at the menu. "The heck? Where is the logout button, anyway?"

"It's located at the bottom of the Main Menu." Echo stated. Klein checked once again but found nothing, Sara then looked at her menu as well.

"Hmm... I don't have the logout option either on my menu." Sara stated. Both Echo and Kirito looked at each other int confusion before Echo looked at his.

"Me neither..." Kirito nodded as well. They all seem to have lost the option.

"I mean, it is just the first day of the game, I guess we should expect there to be some bugs in it. The devs are probably having a fit right now." Klein stated.

"Yeah, but Klein." Echo's voice sounded. They turned to him as he then pointed at the time. "Don't you have pizza waiting for you right now?"

"He's right, it's waiting for you, right?" Kirito added.

"It is going to get cold." Sara finished.

"Damnit!" Klein yelled. His tone filled with frustration. "You're all right! Having a cold pizza is even worse than having a cup fulla melted ice cream."

Sara went back into her menu and checked once again. "Is the menu the only method of logging out? Isn't there another way?"

"I'm afraid not, the only way of logging out of the game is to exit through the menu." Echo answered.

"He's right, there wasn't even anything about logging out of this kind of situation in the game manual either," Kirito added.

"So what you both are pretty much saying, is that I either have to wait for someone to fix this bug, or wait for someone to rip the gear off of my head? Is that what your both telling me?"

"It isn't a normal bug, a game that is unexitable is a massive problem for both the devs and the game," Kirito stated. "There doesn't even seem to be any announcements, even any emergency measures put in place... something about this situation isn't right..."

"I agree, games like this normally have a backup resolution to these situations, this game doesn't and the developers would usually put out an announcement to its players if an issue like this arose," Echo added.

"Perhaps they're just getting too flooded with the requests that they can't seem to keep up?" Sara suggested.

"I don't think that's the case." Kirito interrupted.

"If it were, the devs would have by now just booted everyone out of the game and make them wait until it would be fixed." Echo finished. That was when a loud sound of a bell ringing came to them.

"What the?" Kirito muttered. A light then engulfed them all.

"What's happening!" Klein exclaimed. They all then vanished from the spot.

* * *

"What the? A forced a teleport?" Echo muttered. He managed to slowly open his eyes after they were covered in a blinding light, he turned to see the others next to him.

"Isn't this the Teleport Gate plaza? And look at all the people!" Sara exclaimed. They looked around to see hundreds of people all teleporting in.

"It's like every single player in the game! Huh?" Klein stopped when the sky was filled with red warning signs, they all watched a red robed figure appeared that didn't seem to have a face on them.

" **Dearest players, welcome to my world**." The voice of the mysterious character sounded. The voice carried throughout the entire area for everyone to hear. " **I am Akihiko Kayaba, now the sole person who holds control over this world**."

"Isn't Kayaba one of the SAO devs, isn't he?" Sara asked. She looked towards Echo who nodded his head. "Then do you think this is some kind of kick-off announcement?"

"That might be the case, but I feel like there is something deeper behind this than we think," Echo responded.

"I agree, Akihiko Kayaba has completely avoided any public appearances until now." Kirito chimed in. "He's never even acted as the Game Master until this day, I just wonder what it's all about."

" **I certain that you all have already come to notice that the logout button is longer visible or anywhere to be found in the menu**." Kayaba continued. " **I inform you that it is no error or fault. In fact, this is exactly how Sword Art Online was intentionally designed**."

"Wait, intentionally..." Echo muttered. He narrowed his eyes at the robed figure that was floating in the sky.

" **None of you will be able to voluntarily exit the game until you have reached the top of the caste, in other words, the top of Aincrad** ," Kayaba stated. " **You will nor see yourself to it that you are saved by those outside of the game... but if they or you shall try... the electronic signaler inside your Nerve Gear will output high-power microwaves into your brains**."

"Microwaves? How the heck is a small gear that goes on my head going to send out huge microwaves?" Klein rose an eyebrow up. Kirito face palmed at this while Sara looked confused.

"He doesn't mean those kinds of microwaves, he's referring to the electromagnetic waves, and they are quite dangerous, think of it like this, when a person is under the effect of microwaves, a normal person body would completely deteriorate in less than five seconds." Echo explained. Klein paled at this.

"Then that means..." Klein muttered.

"That's right, our brains would be fried," Kirito answered. Echo glared at the figure of Kayaba along with Kirito, Sara didn't look so good either.

" **The microwaves will destroy your brains and put an end to you waking life** ," Kayaba announced. Many of the people gasped in shock at the words, while others listened in disbelief.

"That means, he's really saying that we could really die?" Sara stuttered. She noticed the grim looks on Echo and Kirito. "That's not... it's can't be possible, right? I mean, isn't this just a game?"

" **Just to make sure you all are aware. We have actually already witnessed more than just a few cases in which a players family and friends have ignored the warning, as a result**..." Kayaba stated. " **An unfortunate total of two hundred and thirteen have been already permanently removed from both the real and virtual world**."

"What! That can't be true..." Sara muttered. Her voice had signs of disbelief, but she couldn't help but feel like the words held truth.

"No way... I'm not falling for that!" Klein exclaimed. "This has to be some elaborate joke of some kind, maybe some kind of event, right? An opening of sorts to a story arc."

Echo and Kirito just watched in silence as they stared up at the big figure. " **All of your real-world bodies have likely been transferred into hospitals and other care facilities with the Nerve Gear still intact to receive care**. **So, I ask that you all to simply relax and focus on making your way through the game**. "

"Do you even hear yourself! Making our way through the game? If you think we can just go about leisurely playing the game we're trapped in, you're seriously screwed in the head!" Kirito complained. "No... this is no longer even a game."

"This is a game, but not any game... a death game," Echo added. His face full of grief and despair as he looked at the red robed figure with his hair covering one eye.

" **I would also ask of you all to act with extreme caution. For the world of Sword Art Online is now another reality that you are all within, if you're HP would fall to zero, your avatar along with your minds in real life will be erased**." Kayaba reminded. " **There is no other way of making it out of this game, other than to climb all the way to the top and beat the boss that lies dormant in it**."

"Beating the hundredth floor? How can you expect any of us to pull something like that off Not evne back in the beta did anyone come close to getting it that far!" Klein exclaimed.

" **Now, before I go, I would like to prove to you all that this world is now your 'real' world** ," Kayaba announced. " **If you would all please look inside your item storage, I have placed a little present for you all. Please do have a look**."

Echo along with the others looked at each other in confusion before accessing their items, Echo rose his eyebrow when he saw that it was a mirror. Taking it out, he looked into it in confusion, before looking shocked as everyone was covered in a blinding light.

As the light slowly went away, Echo opened his eyes and regained his vision and looked around him and noticed everyone looked different, some females even became males and vice versa. Echo looked around and couldn't find Kirito, Klein or Sara.

"Huh? Why does everyone look different?" Sara muttered.

"Different? Wait, this is just like my real face..." Klein muttered. He did so while looking into the mirror in his hands while touching his face.

"Wait, Klein is that you!" Kirito exclaimed. Echo realised the situation and widened his eyes as he stared at the two. Klein now had shorter spikier brownish hair along with a slight beard on his chin and cheeks. Possibly in his twentys.

He then looked at Kirito who appeared to be a couple years younger, possibly around fifteen or so, he had shorter black hair and rounder black eyes. Honestly, Echo thought that both of their appearances fit them more than their avatars.

"Wait, where's Sara?" Echo wondered. He turned to where Sara stood the last time he saw her, he widened his eyes at what he was seeing.

"Echo? Is that you?" Sara had a slightly higher pitched voice. They both looked at each other in shock, before looking at themselves and back at one another.

"Eh~!"

Both of them looked the same age, the age of twelve to be exact! They were much younger than what their avatars were, it honestly surprised them that they were probably the same age. Their clothes didn't change but their appearances definitely did.

Sara was now a petite girl with fair skin, she now had long light purple hair that was tied into neat pigtails with long pink ribbons, she had round eyes that were also pink. Sara looked at Echo up and down, he had changed drastically as well.

Echo now had straight snow white hair, what caught her attention the most was his eyes, his left eye was blue while the right was red. His body shape changed into a leaner muscular body. She had to admit, he looked good.

"Wait, that's you, Kirito!" Klein exclaimed. The male slowly nodded his head. "Wait, where is Echo gone?"

"Down here." They both heard a voice and looked down. They stared bug-eyed at the boy, they didn't expect to see a kid.

"Echo, is that you?" Kirito asked. His voiced filled with disbelief, Kirito then looked towards the girl next to Echo. "Then that's... Sara?"

"That's me," Sara responded sheepishly. Klein and Kirito just stared at them in silence, they had no idea how to react.

"How old are you exactly?" Klein asked.

"Twelve." They answered simultaneously. They both stared at one another in surprise, they both were the same age.

"A-Anyway," Kirito said. He decided to change the subject on the two people who were now kids. "How is it that he got us to look like our real selves?"

"Isn't it those high-density signalers?" Sara suggested.

"I think so, I'm quite certain that they scan your face and then creates a lookalike avatar." Echo stated.

"I see, so that's how it works... it measures our height and weight when you set it up too, so that's how he managed to do this..." Kirito realised. "While these are digitized bodies, they look like us, and Kayaba knows that this will force people to think of this as real..."

"That makes sense, he wants people to believe that this is actually reality by manipulating their minds by making their characters look like themselves." Echo understood. Their attention was then brought back to Kayaba.

"I developed Nerve Gear and SAO solely to create and admire this world, and my dream is now finally a reality," Kayaba stated. His voice had a sign of pride. "Well, this now concludes the official opening tutorial for Sword Art Online. I wish you all the best of luck."

With that, Kayaba's robed avatar disappeared from the sky and the sky turned back to the colour blue as silence ruled the area. This was broken when a scream of a girl was heard and the entire area came into a panic.

"This has got to be some kind of joke, right? No way!"

"Just cut the cra! Let us out of here!"

"No... I don't wanna play anymore..."

Echo looked around as everyone began to run around in absolute panic, it was chaos, that was what was happening right now. He also realised that Kirito was nowhere to be found anymore from what he could see.

"Oh, yeah... We can't go home, huh... that means we're trapped, and we can't leave..." Sara lost the strength in her legs and fell to the ground and sat down in silence, the reality of their situation is chipping away at their hope. Echo looked at her with a saddened expression.

"Sara..."

"Hey, you alright...?" Klein asked. He received no response from the girl who sat there silently. "Guess not. Echo! Can you help me pick Sara up? We aren't going to find a lot around here, let's get away from this plaza."

"Alright!" Echo quickly helped Sara stand up and they all ran away from the plaza quickly, some people were still freaking out and haven't moved from their positions.

* * *

"Are you feeling any better yet, Sara?" Klein asked. Echo and Klein looked to the girl who still looked in despair, but it seemed to be a lot better than in the plaza.

"Yeah... so, where is Kirito?"

"He left town, he's going off to do whatever it is he can do," Klein answered.

"Oh, I see... I suppose that all of us need to stand strong now, sorry for troubling you two." Sara apologised.

"Don't worry about it, Sara. We're jus worried about you." Echo assured.

"Thanks... Just the thought of being trapped inside this game, it was just too much to bear..." Sara stated. Klein and Echo couldn't help but agree.

"Hey, we all get it. None of us would have ever expected that thing would take a turn for the worse this way, right?" A voice was heard that interrupted their conversation. They looked as a figure popped up out of nowhere.

"Ah! Where the heck did you come from?" Klein exclaimed. He was clearly shaken up by the sudden appearance of this new character.

"I was actually here this entire time. You guys were the ones that showed up afterwards, mister samurai man." The person responded.

"Really? Sorry then. I'm no samurai though, the name's Klein, and you are?" Klein inquired.

"You can just call me Argo. Nice to meetcha. So, this is all pretty crazy though, huh?"

"You really don't seem to be too off by it," Klein stated. He sweatdropped while doing so as he looked at the calm Argo.

"Well, seeing everyone else panic is kind of helping me focus. But I mean look at you, you're helping others and stuff." Argo pointed out.

"There isn't a lot that I can do. But this other guy, he just went straight into work, so, I can't just sit on my but without doing anything." Klein declared. "Anyway, I better get heading on out and meet up with my pals. They're most likely back at the plaza."

"Wait, you're leaving us?" Sara asked. Her voice laced with nervousness and worry, anybody would in the situation they were in.

"I've known them since our last game. They're still newbs in this game too, so I can't just leave them out there on their own." Klein stated.

"Right, of course..."

"Don't give me that look, just hit me up if you guys need anything and I'll head right out to meet ya," Klein assured. "While I may not look like it, I have headed up a guild in some other games! I'm around whenever you need me!"

"Right, thanks for everything, Klein. I'll make sure to contact you if I need some help." Echo voiced. Klein nodded at him.

"Alright, later then!" They all watched as Klein ran back towards the plaza.

"It's just so unbelievable for me. This isn't just some bad dream though, right?" Sara hoped. Echo just looked at her before sighing.

"Unfortunately, no. This is all real, the game is real and it's no dream." Echo stated. He then smiled at her though. "But, we're going to make it through this in the end."

"R-Right!" Sara responded. Her voice gained a slight tone of determination and confidence. Although a kid, Echo wasn't childish, he had a body of a child, but a mind of an adult.

 **A/N:** I have no idea how old Argo is, the wiki doesn't give an answer either so I'm just going to say that she's around Kirito's age, sorry if I'm wrong, I probably am.

"So, do the two of you kids have a plan of action? Where you off to?" Argo questioned. Echo held a hand to his chin in thought, Sara just had to wait for Echo to answer since she technically was still really new to the game. "Got a plan, Echo? You're probably Sara's best help right now."

"Well, from my opinion, we should get our hands on some Col, in other words, money. So we can try and stay alive while upgrading our gear and levelling up from fighting monsters out in the plains." Echo suggested. Argo nodded her head at this.

"That does sound like the best method, collecting a good amount of Col is a good idea to start with." Argo agreed.

"What ways can we get Col exactly?" Sara asked.

"Well, there are many ways of doing so, like taking down lots of monsters or by doing a bunch of quests," Argo explained. "But the best case scenario is that you do both in one go. Also, I've got some intel that you might want to hear."

"I sense that you want something in return." Echo said. His eyes were deadpanned as he stared at Argo who just grinned. Sara just blinked at this.

"You have a good sense, that's right, though I'm not asking for much. I want you to go and gather up three Reckless Fangs, they can be obtained by killing Frenzy Boars out in the Origin Plains." Argo explained.

"Doesn't sound too tough, we cna also level up while doing so as well," Sara added. Echo nodded at this.

"That's right. So, if you bring me a bunch, I'll buy 'em at a high price! Sound like a deal?" Argo questioned. The two looked at each other and nodded before turning back.

"It's a deal, Argo." Echo decided.

"I'll... I also want to help out as well. Just like Klein said, we've all got to do what we can." Sara reminded. "We aren't going to get anywhere if we just stay around and not do anything."

"Sara's right, we can't just be lazing around at the town, we need to get some work done if we want to escape." Echo agreed.

"Those are the spirits! I'll be hanging around the area over there." Argo said. She was gesturing to a specific spot in the area. "Drop by again when you're done, okay? Good luck!"

With that, Argo began walking away, leaving it only to Sara and Echo together. "Well, should we get going and get those fangs that Argo wants?"

"R-Right! Let's go!"

* * *

"You doing alright, Sara?" Echo asked. The both of them were currently in Origin Plains, killing many of the Boars and gaining some levels along with materials and Col.

"I'm fine," Sara answered. The both of them have found it slightly more difficult to battle due to their extreme change in size of the avatars they used.

"Is your health fine?" Sara nodded at him as she approached. He looked at the top where he was partied with her and noticed that her health was down by maybe 8% or so. "Just keep practising, you'll get used to it."

"I know, but what about you? You have a different body than your avatar as well. Actually, we both do, I'm honestly surprised that we were both the same age." Sara stated.

"Well, it was difficult at first, but I've already gotten used to this size now, it would make it a bit tougher to fight monsters due to our smaller statures," Echo responded. True to his words, they were both much smaller no, with Sara being slightly shorter than Echo was.

"I agree, the Boars are now looking even scarier now since they look bigger..." Sara admitted. A blush formed on her face as she sheepishly admitted the fact, Echo sweatdropped at her.

"I see, but it doesn't really change much. Anyway, let's get this done and return to Argo and hand these fangs to her." Echo stated.

"Okay, we should both be almost done!"

* * *

Echo and Sara finished with the Boars that were wandering around the plains and were now back with Argo, currently handing over the fangs that they had collected after killing the Boars, they even grew some levels from them.

"All right, that should be all of them. So, how was it? Do you still think you can keep it up?" Argo questioned. Her voice directed at Sara.

"I'm quite certain that I'll be okay, Echo here seems to have my back just in case," Sara responded. Argo nodded to her. "But I might just keep going through the motions to try and forget the reality of the situation right now."

"Yeah, it's still a realistic solution! While It might be quite a grind, but at least you're making progress. A small step, and one giant leap!" Argo added.

"I guess so, it is progress." Echo agreed.

"Now then... Before I hand over this Col, here's some advice from yours truly. Since you now have some Col, you can pick up some gear from the shopping district. It's like paying for peace of mind." Argo explained. She then turned to Sara. "Now, if you have trouble with anything there, just ask your pal Echo, he'll know."

"You can ask me when you need," Echo assured.

"Thanks!" Sara replied. "But, Argo, I was wondering why you decided to help us. We did all just meet one another by complete chance, you didn't need to help us like this..."

"Well, I deal in information. Building contracts and credibility is my trade. Since tons of players are still stuck in the plaza in disbelief. Those who head straight to work like you, well, you're a rare commodity." Argo explained. "So, you owe me one, I'll make sure you repay me in kind!"

"Don't worry, Argo. We'll make sure to repay you sometime down the line." Echo assured. Sara nodded her head in agreement to this.

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing how much my 'investment' pays out!" Argo exclaimed. Echo sweatdropped at the girl, he honestly didn't know what to think of her.

"Okay!" Sara exclaimed.

"Now that's the spirit! Oh yes, I'm liking the both of you a lot! Here's to a mutually beneficial future!" Argo added. Echo just watched both of them with a soft smile on his face.

"This is going to be a long ride."

* * *

 **By the way, here are the ages of some of the characters.**

 **Echo: 12**

 **Sara: 12**

 **Kirito: 15**

 **Asuna: 16**

 **Sinon: 15**

 **Silica: 12**

 **Yuuki: 12**

 **Klein: 24**

 **A/N: I know that Yuuki isn't twelve, but I'm making it so, It doesn't exactly change much.**


End file.
